Teen dead in Youth and Shelter Services facility fire in Boone

A 17-year-old girl who was working to improve her life and live independently has died in a fire at transitional living facility in Boone.

A 17-year-old girl who was working to improve her life and live independently has died in a fire at transitional living facility in Boone.

The house was operated as part of a Youth and Shelter Services program that helps young women who are either homeless or who need help as they move toward living independently.

Firefighters responded to the blaze about 3:30 a.m. Friday. Only one woman was staying there at the time, said George Belitsos, executive director of the Ames-based organization. She was identified by Boone authorities as Nyakuouth Chuol.

Another woman and her child also lived there, but were staying with relatives in Des Moines, Belitsos said.

Belitsos said the program served woman between 17 and 21 years old. He said Chuol was a student at the alternative high school in Boone.

Belitsos said he received a call about the fire at 4:30 a.m. and arrived at the scene before 5 a.m.

He said smoke detectors in the home were directly tied into a fire alarm company that notified the fire department as soon as the smoke detectors went off. All the detectors were in working order, Belitsos said.

“I could still hear the fire alarms when I arrived,” he said.

Boone Fire Chief Justin Adams said at the time the fire department received a call from the alarm company, a passerby called 911 to report the fire.

“Crews were on the scene within minutes,” Adams said. “They found fire coming from the first floor, on the southwest corner of the house, coming out the window, and they were able to make an attack on it.”

At the same time, a crew was doing a search and found Chuol’s body, the chief said.

Chuol was pronounced dead at a local hospital. An autopsy will be done by the state medical examiner’s office, Adams said.

He said the investigation into the cause of the fire was continuing, but that “we are pretty comfortable saying this is not suspicious.”

Only minor damage could be seen outside the house, but the inside sustained severe damage, Adams said.

YSS had operated the program out of the two-story home for 20 years.

Women who stay at the house are expected to work, attend school and participate in counseling, Belitsos said.

They also are required to check in using the home’s land-line telephone before their curfew, which varies depending on the individual, he said. Chuol had checked in Thursday night, Belitsos said.

He said he met with Chuol’s family for 2 1/2 hours Friday. The family met with counselors. Counselors also were meeting with teachers at the school Chuoll attended.

Belitsos said a fund has been set up at YSS to help pay funeral expenses for Chuol.

The woman and child who were not at the house are being moved to a transitional living facility in Ames. Donations, such as baby supplies and household items are being accepted for them, Belitsos said.

The deadly fire was hitting staff at YSS hard, Belitsos said.

“I’ve never been as emotionally impacted in my professional career as I have been today,” he said Friday. “It’s very difficult for my staff who knew this young lady very well. We are sure she was working hard to improve her life, and it’s a tragedy that her life ended in this fire.”